When it comes to the Message of the Cross and Jesus most people have many questions. We
live in a secularised society that says there is no God and there are no miracles.
“God” is something primitive people believe because they are not quite as smart
as we are in the West.
But I'm sure if you've got a computer and you are reading this you must have questions.
I have attempted to deal with key questions here and give concise answers. I hope that
they will be of benefit to you. I believe that Christianity is something that will make
you think, it is not mindless as some people try to make out.
You might be surprised at my conclusions too.
Click on the question you have and see what you think ... but do think.
How do we know if God exists?
There is more evidence to support the existence of God than there is to say that God
does not exist.
The atheist says that there is no God at all. To say this you would have to know
everything there is to know. How can you be sure that you haven't missed something? You
can't be, of course.
The atheist makes out that he is the intellectual one and that those who believe in a
Creator God are foolish and primitive. It is interesting to note that God says: "The
fool says in his heart 'There is no God'".
Atheism has no intellectual basis at all. Rather it is based on faith. It is what a
person believes not on the basis of information but usually on the basis of preference.
People prefer the idea that there is no God because then they can be their own god. They
don't need to be accountable to anyone but themselves. In short, they can do what they
like.
A man, half way up a cliff face, standing on a ledge in the dark, at night. He can't
stay there all night so he believes that there is a place to jump to right behind him. He
jumps.
Another man half way up a cliff face, standing on a ledge in the dark, at night. He
can't stay there all night either. But reason says don't jump off. He hears some one
behind him say "You can jump over here and you will be safe" The man then jumps.
The difference between the two men is that the first acted on blind faith - he had no
information, no reason, he just jumped. The second man acted on information he had
received, on something he could think about. The first man is like the atheist one who has
blind faith. The second is like the Christian one who has definite content and reason to
his faith.
The agnostic (one who believes that there may or may not be a God) seems to be a much
more intellectual position to hold. Of course the agnostic is simply one who is not making
his mind up one way or the other. The agnostic is always going to be wrong because either
there is a God or there isn't. Seeing as the atheist has no intellectual reason for
holding his position but rather blind faith, it seems the most logical position to hold is
that of the theist - to believe that there is a God.
What is the evidence for believing in the existance of God? Well let me ask you if
there is any part of your computer that came about by chance? No? Well the building you
are in (assuming you are not soaking up the sunshine on some lovely beach somewhere) did
it arrive by chance? I hear you say "No" again and possibly thinking "Don't
be so stupid!" Well what about the last car you were in? Did it just come together by
chance? Or a suspension bridge? The answer to all these questions is no. Its obvious isn't
it? As you look at these things you can see the inherent design and it is abvious that
someone designed the things, just like many other things around us.
However, when it comes to the most complex design where you are sitting (or standing as
the case may be) you say no it arrived by pure chance! Why the inconsistency? Because you
have been conned into believing that there is no God which implies that he couldn't have
created anything. You have been told evolution is science and creation is religion. This
is deceitful and wrong. What does anyone know for sure about evolution? Nothing! How can
that be science? It can't! It is however a religion. It is the religion of the atheist.
Darwin brought out the idea that design does not imply a designer! The only reason his
theory of evolution took hold so well was because it was difficult to disprove (Not that
there was any evidence for it anyway) and it suited the academics who didn't like the
devine hypothisis on origins. The evidence today shows that there is no mechanism for
evolution to happen. All the evidence fits the Creation model of the beginning of life and
the universe.
The primary evidence for the existance of God is the Universe and all it contains. This
is so strong that the Bible says that every one will be held accountable on the basis of
what the Creation all around says. That includes you.
It must be noted that no one can prove God's existence one way or another. That is,
except God, of course. If he reveals himself to someone they will be certain of his
existence. His existence cannot be proven any other way. However, a good look at
the evidence will be sure to convince anyone with an open mind to truth. If you are
willing to consider the existance of God in the first place.
If you really wanted to know you would listen to what those who are so convinced have
to say. You might even try looking at what Jesus had to say seeing as he rose from the
dead. (People might laugh at that but there is plenty of evidence to prove it.)
The reason that people don't want to consider the existence of God is not because its
not intellectual but because of the moral consequences of believing in God. While you
believe that there is no God you can do what you like. If Jesus is God then you must
submit your life to him. This is the real reason that you don't want to believe in God.
Because you want to be god yourself!
If you have an open mind consider carefully The Message of God.
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
Are miracles possible?
Some say that the Bible disagrees with science. They say this because they are coming
to the Bible with the idea that miracles are not possible. It doesn't really matter what
the Bible really says they have already made up their mind.
A miracle occurs when there is a suspension of the natural laws. A supernatural event.
The question is can a supernatural event take place?
Has a supernatural event ever taken place in the past? If Jesus really rose from the
dead then the answer is yes.
Another question to ask is: would you be willing to consider the evidence to support
this? Or, are you going to approach the issue with the presupposition that miracles don't
happen and therefore Jesus couldn't have risen from the dead?
Whatever your decision is it remains true that there is significant and compelling
evidence to suggest that Jesus did indeed rise physically from the dead. It is said, by
some authors on the subject, that the evidence is sufficient to prove Jesus' resurrection
from the dead as fact in a court of law today.
Also there are cases where miracles have happened and have been recorded. They remain
unexplained to those who will not accept the Christian understanding of life. God is there
and he is actively involved in our lives. Like it or not.
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
Isn't believing in God just a psychological crutch?
There is a sense in which believing in God is of great psychological help to people. It
is also true that people need a lot of help. God wants to help us. I believe God is more
like a wheelchair than a crutch.
The question really is: is believing in God, something we make up in order to help us
through life?
Christianity is about truth and absolutes. Things that have no baring on what you
believe or don't believe, they are objective realities. Some say that there is no such
thing as truth. I would have to ask if that was a true statement or not. The answer,
either way, showing that the statement is wrong. Another person will say that to believe
in absolutes (i.e. that something is either wrong or right) is wrong. Interesting sort of
absolute statement isn't it. You just cannot get away from absolutes, they are all around
us.
God exists and what you believe about it makes no difference because that is the truth.
People who have come to know and trust him have realised their weakness and need of his
help. Christians have been accused of having a "wish fulfilment dream". But God
exists regardless of what you believe. We just happen to believe the truth.
The same accusation can be levelled at those who say that there is no God. They are the
ones who are really living a wish fulfilment dream. But one day the dream will be over
when reality bites. Either you will turn to God recognising your own inability and need
for forgiveness in dependence on him or you will know the truth as you stand before him in
judgement on the last day.
To say that believing in God is just a psychological crutch is to ignore the objective
reality we are faced with. It is to cover up the fact that those who say this have their
own psychological problems - their pride. It will not allow them to admit their weakness
and come to dependence on God.
Some people may well just believe in God for the purpose of psychological help. I
believe in him because I am in need of help in my mind, soul, spirit and body. He has
revealed himself to me and removed my guilt, forgiving me of my sin. Yes I need him very
much and I'm not ashamed or too weak to admit it.
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
Why all the suffering and
evil in the world?
First of all God did not create the world with suffering and evil. He made it perfect.
It is man's fault that the world is the way it is now. Things are not the way they always
have been.
Man's rebellion against God resulted in separation from God and the regression of the
world and humanity (entropy). This is in conflict with the current popular theory of
progression proposed by the evolutionary theory. The result being that we have suffering
and evil in the world now.
People are dying all over the world because of war, poverty and famine. Whose fault is
that? We are quick to blame God but it is not his fault. War happens because of greed,
hate and lack of forgiveness.
Poverty happens because of the greed of those who have not willing to share with those
who don't. The average night out in the pub could feed a family in Africa for a couple of
months.
Famine happens because we don't want to give people the food we have. There is so much
extra food in the EU that we have to store it away to keep the prices at the right level.
Meanwhile people starve to death. Who is to blame? I'd look a little closer to home before
I started blaming God if I were you.
So why doesn't God do something about it? Well, he will. At present he is giving people
time to turn to him before its too late. Its not that God is not concerned about people
and their plight, he is but there is something far more urgent at stake. If this world was
all there was then God might well have a case to answer but it is not. There is the whole
of eternity to come and you don't want to spend it in the wrong place.
One day God will bring it all to an end. It might be today or tomorrow, no one knows
except him. The question is: will you be with him or against him?
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
Surely there are many ways all equally valid?
A famous atheist B. Russell said, "I think all the great religions of the world
are untrue and harmful... It is evident as a matter of logic that since they all disagree,
not more than one can be true"
Many people seem to think that all religions are essentially the same and are about the
same God. This is not so and is the conclusion arrived at as a result of ignorance rather
than out of an informed decision.
Jesus claimed to be God and that if we did not come to him we would not come to God. He
claimed to be the exclusive way to God. -John 8:58; 14:6
If Jesus was telling the truth then it is obvious that there is only one way to God.
The alternative is that Jesus was a liar or perhaps mad. Neither of these two ideas really
holds water.
Peter, one of Jesus Apostles said that Salvation was found in no one else and in no
other name other than Jesus - Acts 4:12.
Paul, the writer of much of the New Testament, said that Jesus is the only mediator
between God and man - 1Tim 2:5
What is comes down to is this. There is only one person who can take your sin away and
that is Jesus. No one else died to pay for your sin. No one else could have died to pay
for your sin. No one else led a perfect life. No one else rose from the dead and is alive
today as millions around the world will testify to. His grave is empty.
Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the
Spirit. 1Peter 3:18
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
What about those who have not heard?
The question really being asked here is: is God just in his dealings with men if he
doesn't tell everyone about the potential for forgiveness?
The answer is simple. God is not bound to forgive everyone. He is, however, bound to
punish sin and not let it go unpunished. God will judge people for how they have lived -
Revelation 20:11-15. In saying that God does want everyone to come to a knowledge of the
truth.
Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God's glory -
Romans 3:23
Everyone is deserving of Hell, without exception.
God, however is gracious because: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will
be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can
they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone
preaching to them?- Romans 10:13,14 (NIV)
It is interesting to note that God has spoken directly to people himself. There are
many stories of God revealing himself to peoples who have had no missionary contact.
Those who have not heard have the testimony of the stars at night and the world all
around. These things may seem trivial to a Western mind but to the mind of people outside
the Humanistic West it means a whole lot. People in the other parts of the world are far
closer to the ground and more aware of the existence of God.
In the end are there any who don't hear?
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim
the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they
display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their
voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."
Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV)
The real question now is: What will you do? You have heard and now have the
responsibility to respond. If you really care about those who may not have heard, maybe
you should give your life to telling them about Jesus.
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
What about all the hypocrites in the Church?
As you look at the church you can see many hypocrites its true. Jesus looked at the
religious people of his day and he said "Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites". Jesus was not happy with religious hypocrisy at all. It
is obvious from this statement that he hated it. Jesus was not a hypocrite.
What is a hypocrite anyway? It is someone who is an actor. It is someone who is
pretending to be what they are not. This becomes very obvious when you have people who say
that they are perfect, that they keep the Ten Commandments or whatever. It doesn't take
much to see that they can't really live up to their claims. They are hypocrites. But
everybody who claims something good about themselves will be found to be a hypocrite at
some point.
No one is perfect, we all fail to keep our own standards let alone God's. The hypocrite
is the one who says that they are good when they are not. So what about the hypocrites in
the church?
Those who are seen to be in the church and are saying that they are better than others
have missed the whole point of what Jesus was talking about. They have missed the whole
point of the gospel message.
Christianity is not for good people it is for the wicked, the ungodly, the rebellious,
the sinner, the sexually immoral, the homosexual, the murderer, the thief, the liar, the
drunk, etc., people like me. This is what each real Christian was at one time. Jesus said
that its not healthy people who need a doctor but rather the sick. You don't go to the
doctor if you are well you only go if you are sick. Jesus was saying that we are all sick.
He said that he had not come to call the righteous but the sinners to turn back to God.
What is a sinner? Well you are one, just like me and everyone else. A sinner is considered
as scum! (Psalm 119:119) ... I don't like that very much either but its none the less
true. Its true of me and its true of you.
Now, you see, the hypocrite is the one who says that they are all right, that there is
nothing wrong with them. I cannot say that I am all right. It would not be true, I would
be being hypocritical. Also to say that I am never a hypocrite would also be hypocritical.
Christians are not good people. They are bad people who need a Saviour. The difference
between the religious hypocrite and a real Christian is that the real Christian knows that
they need help and that they are not good enough, while the religious hypocrite thinks
that they are, at least, reasonably good.
Christians are bad people who are changing. Some change faster than others but they are
changing.
Real Christians are people who have turned to Jesus recognising that they are
completely unable to do what is right, that they can never satisfy God's demands and that
they are ... hypocrites. They truly believe that Jesus paid the penalty for all their
wickedness on the cross when he died. They believe that they have a righteousness that has
come from God and was given to them as a gift. It is a righteousness that they have not
earned but one that God freely gives to those who believe that Jesus paid for them. -
Romans 1:16,17; 1Peter 3:18.
The real hypocrites are the ones who deny that they need help and refuse to turn to
Jesus. Or worse still who pretend to follow Jesus in outer performance only and who
haven't surrendered their hearts to him.
The religious hypocrites, along with all those who reject Jesus, will be in Hell. Will
you be with them?
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
What about doing good things?
Can doing good make you acceptable to God? How much good would you have to do?
The interesting thing is that there is no weighing scales in Heaven. On judgement day
your bad deeds will not be weighed up against your good deeds. That's not the way it
works.
God is perfect and only that which is perfect may live with him. That means in order to
get to God you need to be perfect! That's what Jesus said "Be
perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48 And
later, speaking of the Heavenly City, the Scripture says "Nothing impure will ever
enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, ..." Revelation
21:27
So how do we do that? The Bible does say that if you keep all of the law all of the
time and never break it you will have eternal life - Galatians 3:10-11. However, it also
says that no one can do that. No one performs perfectly all of the time.
In fact its interesting to note what the prophet Isaiah wrote concerning what God
thinks of all the good things you do - they are like a menstrual cloth - Isaiah 64:6. Not
very pleasing really.
The purpose of God's law is not to get you to heaven if you can keep it. No, the
purpose is to show you that you can't live up to God's standard and so are in dire need of
his mercy. In short, you may be another Mother Teresa but you are as guilty as hell and
that's where you are going if you don't let God do something about it.
The pass mark for God is 100%. You may get 99.99% (fat chance) but you still fail. Only
perfection is good enough for God. Only God can make you acceptable.
How perfect are you?
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
Can anyone be sure of what will happen after death?
"Of course not!" you say. That would be the opinion of most people - you can
never really know. But that is only if it depends on you. If it depends on your
performance then you can never know. You don't know how you will perform tomorrow. You may
fail so badly as to be disqualified.
Of course this is all assuming that you could be good enough in the first place and you
can't.
According to the Bible you can know for sure that you can be accepted, that you can
have eternal life. Not only can you be sure of eternal life in the future but you can have
it now here on earth. Its not just "Pie in the sky when you die." "Its life
on earth after birth."
This is a strange thought and impossible to most people but that's because you are
thinking about and depending on your own performance. This is where the crunch comes in.
The only people who can be sure of life after death and eternal life now are those who are
not depending on how they live their lives. Does that sound strange?
The Eternal life that the Bible talks about is not merely life after death but it is
knowing the eternal living God personally. Yes, you can know God personally and you can
know where you are going to spend forever too. The only way that this can happen is if it
doesn't depend on you.
Eternal life is a gift that God gives. Now it is important to understand what a gift
is. A gift is something that someone gives because they want to make someone happy. Its
not like a wage which is what someone is obliged to give to someone who has worked and
earned it.
So if God gives you this gift because he wants to bless you, you don't have to do
anything for it, do you? So who does he give the gift of eternal life to? He does not give
it to those who work for it. No those people are saying to God that they don't want his
gift. Their pride gets in the way and they cannot just accept it as a gift, no they must
do something.
God's gift was very expensive. Jesus had to pay for it with his life when he died on
the cross nearly 2000 years ago. If you will trust him, believing that he loves you so
much that he has paid for all of your wickedness, (no matter how good you think you are)
he will give you his gift of eternal life.
You can know that you have it if you depend on him and what he has done and not on what
you did, are doing or will do.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may
know that you have eternal life.- 1John 5:13 (NIV) Notice that John wrote in the present
tense here, not in the future tense.
Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an
obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked,
his faith is credited as righteousness. - Romans 4:4,5
Here you see the point I'm trying to make. Its the person who does not work but who
trusts God that is credited with righteousness. That righteousness comes from God not from
the person himself - Romans 3:21
So what do you want to do? Do it yourself or accept that you can't and that God has and
wants to give you eternal life as a gift?
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
Can we trust the Bible?
This is a large topic and we'll look at it in several ways.
Is it really History
If the Bible is true then it follows that it must be historically accurate too.
Many archaeologists have been digging in the Middle East for quite some time. At times
they have said that certain things, people or places that were mentioned in the Bible
didn't really exist because they had not found any evidence of them. However, in time many
of these so called missing items have later been found to actually exist. If anything
archaeology has stood by the Bible and confirmed it as a historical document.
William Albright went out to prove that the Bible was in error and was not written by
those whom the church was claiming had written it. After his searching around he came to
the conclusion that Luke (The author of the Gospel of Luke and Acts) was a foremost
historian of his time. He even became a Christian because of the overwhelming evidence he
had found.
Nelson Gleuk, another archaeologist, came to the conclusion that "no proven
archaeological find has ever controverted a single Biblical reference". He at one
point started to use the Bible to direct him where to find things.
Another important aspect of the historicity of the Bible is the Nation of Israel. The
Bible talks a whole lot about this people. It talks about their dispersion and that they
would come back to their land. This they have now done. If you believe that the Bible is
not historical you have some question to answer here.
Those who don't want to listen to the demands of the Bible will certainly try to
discredit it. They are only fooling themselves and those who are foolish enough to believe
them.
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
•Back to - Can we trust the Bible
There are so many interpretations
There are so many interpretations how can we know what is right? Well most people come
to the Bible and take things out of context with little understanding of what was
happening at the time of writing. To approach any literature like this will mean that you
come to an erroneous conclusion.
The cults are a very good example of this but it happens in Christian churches too.
Scripture is taken out of its context and allegorised so bringing out a totally different
meaning to what was intended by the original author and indeed by God. Many people twist
the Scripture in order to suit themselves. Honesty and careful study within the context is
the best guard against those who would lead you astray. Just because what some one may say
sounds great does not mean that it is correct.
While there are some passages that are open to different interpretations, the parts of
the Bible that talk about salvation are all clear and speak for themselves.
People's false interpretations of the Bible are no reason to say that it is not the
truth and that you cannot approach it honestly and find out about God for yourself.
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
•Back to - Can we trust the Bible
Where does the Bible come from?
The Bible was just written by men. It is the ideas of different men of the church.
This is not true. The church did not give us the Bible. The Church recognised the Bible
for what it is - the Word of God.
It was written by many different men over a period of 1500 years. They were men in
different positions of life. There were shepherds, slaves, rich men, kings, religious
leaders, fishermen, traitors, etc. They all wrote as they were inspired by the Spirit of
God. They did not write things that had their origin in their own minds but that had their
origin in God. Of course if you don't believe in God you certainly won't believe that the
Bible was written under the inspiration of God. But speculate for a moment, if there
really was a God, would it be impossible for him to do this?
In all these writings by all these different men over such a long time span they all
flow together. Some people say that there are contradictions in the Bible and so it could
not have been inspired by God. What some people call contradictions are just things that
they don't understand. In fact most people who say this have no idea of a single apparent
contradiction.
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
•Back to - Can we trust the Bible
Surely a text this old is unreliable
When something has been passed around for long enough it gets changed and is no longer
reliable or so the argument goes. But is this the case with the Bible?
The answer is no. How can I be so sure? Because of the evidence we have of the way that
the text has been handed down.
When it comes to the Hebrew Scriptures there are very few manuscripts. This is very
encouraging. The way that they were copied was very precise indeed, to put it mildly. When
a manuscript was completed they would have to have the right number of lines in a column
the right number of letters in a line and much more. If the copy was flawed it would be
destroyed. When a copy was successfully made the old one would be destroyed. The new one
was regarded as being more accurate than the older one. This was because the older the
manuscript the more likely it was to get damaged. When the Hebrew Scriptures we have today
are compared with the Dead Sea Scrolls it becomes obvious how accurately they have been
copied through the ages.
The New Testament is different. We have over 4000 Greek manuscripts, 8000 manuscripts
of the Latin vulgate and 1000 from other early version of the texts. This is far more than
any other works of antiquity. The earliest manuscripts that we have of the N.T. are from
around 250 to 300 years after the original writings.
Compare this with one or two examples from other works of antiquity. Only ten or so
decent manuscripts of Caesar's Gallic war survive today, the earliest of which are from
about 1000 years after the originals. Also of the Annals of Tacitus (100AD). There are
around 20 manuscripts in existence which were written about 1000 years after the
originals. There is a lot more evidence of course but not enough space here to deal with
it. If you want to study this further then try looking at a book called "Evidence
That Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell. He brings it out in far greater detail for
serious examination.
If you cannot accept the Bible as being a valid and accurate historical document then
you have to disregard all the other works of antiquity and history too. This is quite
obviously not a smart thing to do. The Bible is trustworthy, read it and find out for
yourself. Don't just go on the uninformed opinion of those who are bigoted against the
Word of God.
If you want to know what your biggest problem with all this really is, click here.
•Back to - Can we trust the Bible
So you want to know what the real problem
is ...
The chances are that you are one of the 97% whose real problem is not an intellectual
one but a more personal one. You don't want to believe what God says because you don't
want to have to submit to him. He says that you are corrupt, wicked, proud, sinful and
deceived. You need to change and he is the only one who can help you. You don't like that
idea very much so in order to protect yourself you hide behind a lot of seemingly
intellectual questions.
No matter what answer you are given you will never be satisfied because you are not
looking for an answer, you are looking for an excuse. That's right your questions are
nothing more than an excuse. Most people haven't ever thought seriously about these
questions, they are just handy excuses that someone else came up with.
Isn't it about time you were honest with yourself and gave The
Message some serious thought?
If you have questions I have not dealt with or want help in understanding the truth e-mail me, I would love to help.
You will die one day and what then? If I'm wrong I've nothing to lose but if you are,
you have everything to lose!
Maybe you are one of the 3% and you do have some real intellectual problems with The Message. This page has a limited ability to answer
questions to any deep degree. However, I would like to help you as best I can. Why not
drop me an e-mail and share with me your concerns.
